This report explores how big data can be used by broadcasters to improve their services, building on the views of key decision makers from 14 major media groups. View Summary

This report explores how big data can be used by broadcasters to improve their services, building on the views of key decision makers from 14 major media groups.

As focus moves from asset-based (subscribers and views) to behavioural data, some assumptions about audiences and preferences are being overturned.

One of the key challenges is deciding what data to collect and focus on - collecting too much data can be unsettling for the consumer, and overwhelming for the business.

Better data and insights can improve advertising through understanding audiences and targeting more efficiently, as well as how 'prime time' varies between groups.

As big data becomes increasingly accessible and valuable, broadcasters will need to recruit and retain data science professionals, and guard against the type of fraud digital advertising is struggling with.

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The ARF invites marketers to sit at the "decision table"

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ARF Audience Measurement, June 2013

Marketing researchers face a number of challenges, including the need to establish satisfactory metrics, integrating with other communications functions and staying abreast of the latest thinking and strategies. View Summary

Marketing researchers face a number of challenges, including the need to establish satisfactory metrics, integrating with other communications functions and staying abreast of the latest thinking and strategies. However, according to Gayle Fuguitt, the president/ceo of the ARF, they also possess several advantages, including a deep understanding of consumer behavior and a passion for data. Their ability to translate and communicate this information has also improved substantially in the last decade. As such, many of the possibilities and resources for growth now rest in the hands of the research industry.

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Media research: Magic and maths

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Mark Holden and Justin Gibbons, Admap, April 2013, pp. 30-32

Big Data is an increasingly sophisticated business practice and marketing intelligence is now fuelled by software that attempts to fuse multiple data sources. View Summary

Big Data is an increasingly sophisticated business practice and marketing intelligence is now fuelled by software that attempts to fuse multiple data sources. New roles such as data scientists are being developed to co-ordinate and analyse this glut of data. They have a computational, statistical focus and carry increasingly influential weight across business. But this article argues that the work of behavioural experts is also critical if brands are to benefit from behavioural data. Human insight and experience remains fundamental to marketing practice and if behaviourists and analysts can find a way to work together, they can glean real value from the information they have.

This report from the ARF's Audience Measurement 7.0 conference - themed the 'measurement crisis' - covers presentations from Kellogg, Facebook, comScore, ABC and CNN about the challenges presented by cross-platform audiences in the digital age. Kellogg discusses the role of digital in the company's own media mix, where investment follows performance. Facebook references a study of 60 campaigns on the social network, of which 70% registered a three-fold ROI. And a separate presentation from comScore focuses on research into Starbucks' Facebook fans, which found a 38% lift in purchase incidence. Separately, broadcaster ABC presents its "smile research" - pilot work into using smiling and happiness as an audience metric. And finally, CNN shares research on how the proliferation of screens is changing media consumption, based on a study of basketball viewing.

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A transitional point of media consumption: From 'we' to 'me' media: The need for research to understand change

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Sara Sheridan, Market Research Society, Annual Conference, 2012

This paper argues that current media research models are broken, and that there is a need to fix them. View Summary

This paper argues that current media research models are broken, and that there is a need to fix them. It puts forward a methodology to overcome the challenges of traditional media research. Switched On is described as a 360° model for research that uses two types of camera to record and then observe individuals' media consumption, free of moderator influence and respondent direction. Examples of this model being used on consumers are then discussed.

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Entertainment evaluation

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Ian Wright, Admap, February 2012, pp. 28-29

What actually constitutes branded entertainment is diverse and for this reason, as a discipline, it can seem very difficult to evaluate. View Summary

What actually constitutes branded entertainment is diverse and for this reason, as a discipline, it can seem very difficult to evaluate. It is also often a part of a wider campaign and so isolating its success is another challenge. A key question is: what did it contribute compared to a conventional spot? Using an experimental design, Ipsos aims to measure the effectiveness of branded entertainment in a controlled environment and delves deeper into how consumers can be exposed to a particular campaign, using examples from the Glastonbury Festival and HSBC Private Banking.

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Out with old research, in with the new

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Claire Spencer with Paul Baines, Admap, January 2012, pp. 10-12

The 'orchestration' model represents a new way of constructing and integrating messages across channels, whereby the communication dances to the same brand tune but can play out differently across media. View Summary

The 'orchestration' model represents a new way of constructing and integrating messages across channels, whereby the communication dances to the same brand tune but can play out differently across media. It contrast with the more traditional 'matching luggage' approach, where integration across media channels is advertising and visually led and the consumer has to journey across numerous media to experience the full message from different touchpoints. So integrated media measurement requires new research methods attuned to the theatre of modern brand communication.

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Translating the language of consumers into global fundraising efforts

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Sotta Long and Nick Chiarelli, ESOMAR, Best Case History, Congress, Amsterdam, September 2011

Until recently the world of fundraising relied on goodwill to motivate supporters to donate their time or money to good causes. View Summary

Until recently the world of fundraising relied on goodwill to motivate supporters to donate their time or money to good causes. Increasingly however, not-for-profit organisations have marketing and insight departments that are attuning themselves to how people around the world are living their lives and how fundraising efforts can best fit in with those fast-changing attitudes, values and lifestyles. This case study shows how Iconoculture and UNICEF are working together to embed consumer trend frameworks around the organisation as a way of understanding supporters, both in an individual and a corporate environment. It shares both the process and some of the latest outputs, in the form of new fundraising ideas and communications strategies.

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Media and measurement: Trends and themes at Warc's Advertising Research 2011 conference

A conference report from Warc's Advertising Research 2011 event, covering presentations from Google, Yahoo, MPG, BSkyB and Bupa, among others. Their main theme is that media measurement is becoming more difficult for the research industry. Common points of agreement are: that researchers are taking more account of real-time data in their media measurement strategies, that the problem is particularly acute in measuring "pull" media, such as search ads, and that, even so, researchers are making strides in developing innovative and experimental techniques.

This report from the ARF's Re:Think conference covers the contribution of Scott McDonald, Condé Nast's SVP of research and insights. View Summary

This report from the ARF's Re:Think conference covers the contribution of Scott McDonald, Condé Nast's SVP of research and insights. He is speaking at a panel session entitled "50 Years of Advertising Research", staged to mirror the 50th anniversary issue of the Journal of Advertising on a similar theme. McDonald argues for a switch in the focus of research from the comparability of individual media to reflect the reality that all print media are now also consumed digitally. He also calls for a move away from language like "campaigns" and "targeting" to reflect a more collaborative approach to advertising, or risk consumers using technology to avoid ads completely. He highlights the importance of verifying research insights with corroborative evidence before acting upon them, and cites the social, behavioral and brain sciences as fruitful sources of learning for researchers.

A report covering three presentations at a 2011 MRS conference. Hamish Pringle of the IPA reveals that consumers are dipping in and out of the "media flow" in their day-to-day lives; a major challenge for today's researchers is to develop media strategies to reflect this "always-on" world. View Summary

A report covering three presentations at a 2011 MRS conference. Hamish Pringle of the IPA reveals that consumers are dipping in and out of the "media flow" in their day-to-day lives; a major challenge for today's researchers is to develop media strategies to reflect this "always-on" world. IAB Europe/Screen Digest show that online adspend is enjoying explosive growth, with innovations in display ads - and online video in particular - boosting the sector even in mature markets. Interbrand says that building brand value can be achieved through maintaining a sense of consistency over multiple touchpoints, or by embracing unorthodox media strategies such as building offline word of mouth.

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Research clients to market researchers: move it or lose it

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ARF Re:think, June 2011

This report from the ARF's Audience Research conference focuses on a client panel session in which executives from organizations including the ANA, Time Inc., GroupM and Optimedia offer their opinions on the current shortcomings of market research and offer up their ideas for the future. View Summary

This report from the ARF's Audience Research conference focuses on a client panel session in which executives from organizations including the ANA, Time Inc., GroupM and Optimedia offer their opinions on the current shortcomings of market research and offer up their ideas for the future. MR is told to produce tools that can help advertisers make sense of all the data emanating from digital conversations. Equally, there's a call for media research to measure actual distribution across all channels, and not just paid circulation. Similarly, the industry is told to switch focus from measuring media devices to measuring across multiple platforms.

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The Future is Now: In Pursuit of a More Efficient and Effective Media Strategy

Poltrack and Bowen share a system that allows advertisers to have a 360-degree perspective of their core prospects with regard to media consumption, which will enable marketers to move beyond pure dem... View Summary

Poltrack and Bowen share a system that allows advertisers to have a 360-degree perspective of their core prospects with regard to media consumption, which will enable marketers to move beyond pure demographic reach to quality reach.

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The March to Reliable Metrics: A Half-Century of Coming Closer to the Truth

Reach and frequency are key concepts advertisers face when selecting media for their campaigns. Around the world, the advertising industry relies on audience research for insights into how different media outlets perform on these key concepts. View Summary

Reach and frequency are key concepts advertisers face when selecting media for their campaigns. Around the world, the advertising industry relies on audience research for insights into how different media outlets perform on these key concepts. In this contribution, the authors discuss the developments in audience research in three themes: (syndicated) audience research into readership of print media, ratings of television, and Internet, studies on the reach of individual advertisements, studies on the quality of reach, in particular the influence of the media context. The authors conclude with some suggestions: the need for cross-media data, the need for hybrid data collection that includes electronic and passive measurement of media use and the need for new metrics, such as measures of implicit processing of sponsored media content and measures of consumer generated brand communications.

Warc’s US editor, Geoffrey Precourt, reports on the announcement of a new tie-up between Nielsen and several of the US trade associations that will change the way TV advertising is measured. View Summary

Warc’s US editor, Geoffrey Precourt, reports on the announcement of a new tie-up between Nielsen and several of the US trade associations that will change the way TV advertising is measured. The Ad-ID system, unveiled at the Association of National Advertisers’ TV and Everything Video conference, promises to deliver ratings for individual television spots, rather than for broad-based programming. The piece looks at the implications of the announcement and includes interviews with ANA president Bob Liodice and Admap columnist Joe Mandese.

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Communications trends from VoD to the mobile internet: a report from the 2010 UK Media Research Group conference

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Colin Grimshaw, Warc Exclusive, November 2010

Report from the 2010 UK Media Research Group conference. Topics discussed include which traditional media will survive the digital age, the measurement challenge of recording consumption of digital media, takeup of the mobile internet, and how VoD can be leveraged by advertisers. View Summary

Report from the 2010 UK Media Research Group conference. Topics discussed include which traditional media will survive the digital age, the measurement challenge of recording consumption of digital media, takeup of the mobile internet, and how VoD can be leveraged by advertisers. Speakers include representatives from ESPN, Discovery Communications Europe, comScore, BBC Worldwide, Ipsos, Kantar Media, JCDecaux and Nielsen.

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Maintenance person or architect? The role of academic advertising research in building better understanding

This paper suggests that, while advertising has changed, advertising research has not. Indeed, questions asked of advertising research more than 20 years ago have still not been answered. View Summary

This paper suggests that, while advertising has changed, advertising research has not. Indeed, questions asked of advertising research more than 20 years ago have still not been answered. The enormity of change in advertising compounded by the lack of response from researchers suggests the traditional academic advertising research model requires more than routine maintenance. It seeks an architect with vision to redesign an academic research model that is probably broken or badly outdated. Five areas of the academic research approach are identified as needing rethinking: (1) the advertising problem, (2) sample frame and subjects, (3) assumptions regarding consumer behaviour, (4) research methodologies and (5) findings. Suggestions are made for improvement. But perhaps the biggest challenge is academic leadership. This paper proposes the establishment of a blue-ribbon panel to report back on recommended changes or improvements.

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Coalition for Innovation of Media Measurement Identifies First Two Targets

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, 4A's Transformation, May 2010

At the 2010 4A's Transformation conference, Jane Clarke explained the purpose and methodology behind the formation of CIMM - the Coalition of Innovative Media Measurement, which she is the Managing Director of. View Summary

At the 2010 4A's Transformation conference, Jane Clarke explained the purpose and methodology behind the formation of CIMM - the Coalition of Innovative Media Measurement, which she is the Managing Director of. With the intention to tackle the problem of too many information channels in the digital society and not enough consistency in measurement from one resource to another, CIMM is intended to promote innovation in audience measurement for television and cross-platform media. It amasses industry intelligence and plans to explore and identify new methodologies through collaborative pilot studies with independent measurement companies. It is specifically looking to support two areas: TV measurement through set-top-box data and cross-platform media measurement. Clarke explains the challenges involved and the advantages it will bring.

This brief paper reports on the use of Atlas tags to track internet behaviour. These tags can be combined with user surveys in order to develop scorecards correlating online engagement with projected revenue, brand preference, satisfaction and net promoter score. View Summary

This brief paper reports on the use of Atlas tags to track internet behaviour. These tags can be combined with user surveys in order to develop scorecards correlating online engagement with projected revenue, brand preference, satisfaction and net promoter score. By analysing consumers' self-reported interests and need states, and matching the data to observed online behaviour, it is possible to develop an overall framework of how shoppers progress from initial investigation of a brand or product, to in-depth research, to developing purchase intent, then purchasing. Based on the paper's findings, the authors recommend using personalised messages to drive interaction and tailoring creative and media placement to the consumer's particular need state.

20

From Prime Time to My Time - Introduction

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Andrew Green, Warc Exclusive, From Prime Time to My Time, 2010, pp. 1-14

In the introduction to From Prime Time To My Time, Andrew Green poses the question of how research companies know how many people watch a television programme or read a newspaper. View Summary

In the introduction to From Prime Time To My Time, Andrew Green poses the question of how research companies know how many people watch a television programme or read a newspaper. He provides different methods that companies may use to produce such statistics and how these figures affect advertising decisions. Addressed are the issues associated with audience measurement, covering different media types, and explains the ARF's eight levels of media performance measurement.

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ad:tech Chicago 2009: Carat's Data-Synthesis Program

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ad:tech Chicago, September 2009

The presentation of Carat's Mike Hess to ad:tech Chicago 2009 is the focus of this report by WARC's U.S. View Summary

The presentation of Carat's Mike Hess to ad:tech Chicago 2009 is the focus of this report by WARC's U.S. editor, Geoffrey Precourt. Hess proposed that the "classic advertising equation" traditionally steering media research (medium/placement; frequency of exposure; timing; competitive set; message/offer; and audience/reach) needed to be replaced to reflect the realities of the new consumer's media consumption in a world increasingly influence by online and digital media. Hess's new model - one that taps into both online and offline data - still ends up with a focus on the consumer, but the means to that end are far richer. Search activity, for example, reinforces media usage; demographics are further refined by purchase behavior; engagement provides a fuller understanding of psychographics; and word-of-mouth helps explain marketplace dynamics.

22

Looking beyond the last click

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Joe Mandese, Admap, May 2009, Issue 505, pp. 8-8

New data tools and analysis systems are changing the way advertising campaigns are planned. Instead of modelling only the past, they are enabling us to explain consumer behaviour almost in real time, and adjust plans accordingly. View Summary

New data tools and analysis systems are changing the way advertising campaigns are planned. Instead of modelling only the past, they are enabling us to explain consumer behaviour almost in real time, and adjust plans accordingly. The internet has led in this, but other major media are catching up. The new `science of advertising’ will provide a common language for measuring effects on consumer behaviour. To exploit this, this industry will have to stop focusing on simple, one-dimensional analyses (e.g., the last exposure is the most influential) and start considering in a holistic way how advertising and media influence behaviour and lifestyles. This is beginning with the concept of `attribution’, which looks for all the points at which people are influenced towards a brand, and seeks to integrate them.

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Will the internet mean the end of civilisation as we know it?

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Andrew Green, Market Leader, Quarter 2, March 2009, pp. 72-75

There are three key trends are shaping the media environment: unlimited content; better technology; and increased speed of change. View Summary

There are three key trends are shaping the media environment: unlimited content; better technology; and increased speed of change. These trends are forcing most companies to re-examine their business, especially traditional media. ZenithOptimedia predicts that, by 2010, the internet will attract almost 14% of global advertising expenditure, up from 5% in 2005. Print advertising in newspapers and magazines is expected to decline from 43% to 35% of the total over the same period. In television, combined audience share of the three big U.S. networks has dropped from 80%+ 25 years ago to less than 40% today. ITV in the UK has seen its share drop from 50% in 1982 (the first year after its commercial monopoly ended) to less than 20%. The reason is that the internet is a very attractive and flexible medium, on which many increasingly prefer to view editorial and programme content. Traditional media have thus become just one alternative delivery method. While many still like to read and view in the traditional way, research suggests increasing use of the new media, especially amongst the young. Five survival strategies are suggested for traditional media.

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The WFA Blueprint: Everyone gains from evolving media measurement

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Robert Dreblow, Warc Exclusive, November 2008

This paper argues the case for the industry-wide development of a consumer-centric approach to media audience measurement, as advocated by the WFA's Blueprint initiative. View Summary

This paper argues the case for the industry-wide development of a consumer-centric approach to media audience measurement, as advocated by the WFA's Blueprint initiative. Despite the termination of Project Apollo in the US, results of a WFA survey still found development of, or interest in, such audience measurement in 17 countries, spanning three broad approaches: Hub (e.g. in France); Single-source (e.g. Project Apollo and Media Monitor in Italy); and Hybrid (e.g. the UK's IPA TouchPoints). The benefits of such new approaches to media audience measurement for advertisers, media owners and agencies are discussed.

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Unpacking the multimedia mix

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Roderick White, Admap, September 2008, Issue 497, pp. 22-23

This introduction to Admap's report on the media mix discusses the difficulties facing media planners arising from the explosion of new outlets, digitisation, and the limitations of audience measurement research. View Summary

This introduction to Admap's report on the media mix discusses the difficulties facing media planners arising from the explosion of new outlets, digitisation, and the limitations of audience measurement research. Media must be looked at from the consumers' viewpoint and, in particular, how they experience it and the role it plays in their lives. Evidence from IPA TouchPoints, Project Apollo and dunnhumby's Marketing Mix Optimisation suggests that several media often work better than one. Other issues, however, complicate the task, such as how to measure 'media neutral' and non-media activities such as product placement or programme sponsorship. The key to a solution lies in understanding the roles different media play for the target consumers and how they interact. This should be established prior to the creative development of the campaign, which should then proceed in tandem with the media plan and be integrated with it.